“If you think you’re going to go in and have one plan, that is not the way to go into the media industry,” said Dave Spadaro, KLN ’87, of Eagles Insider. “I started in newspapers and my career with the Eagles has been 30 years of change and evolution. 

“Employers will focus more on how much experience you have when they look at your resume,” he added. “There are only so many of those jobs in media, so expand your horizon. Learn how to be on camera, shoot, video edit, write and every part of the business.” 

Spadaro’s words of wisdom were just an example of the advice that was shared by a panel of sports media professionals at the Claire Smith Center for Sports Media’s 13th annual Sports Media Summit on March 21.  

Each year, Temple University’s Sports Media Summit provides high school and college students with the opportunity to gain insider knowledge from media professionals about what it takes to launch a career in the field. They learned about the latest trends in sports journalism, broadcasting, digital media, communication and content creation. 

“Most of my career with the Eagles, I was doing all of the interviews and hosting all of the shows on camera,” Spadaro explained. “We shifted from team media to team social media. Mostly, the only on-camera figures you see from the very successful Eagles social media team are the players and coaches; this is what people are consuming from a team standpoint, which is how the business has changed.”  

Breland Moore, KLN ’14, who fulfilled her lifelong dream of being a sports anchor in Philadelphia after joining the Fox 29 news team in May 2021, was also a keynote speaker. Moore explained the importance of networking and finding an organization that supports media professionals and aligns with your interests. She is a member of Temple's Sports Media Society for Women, a student organization that empowers women in sports media by providing mentorship and professional development. 

“I leaned on the community that I had built with other women in journalism,” said Moore. “I am biracial, so as a woman of color, too, there are so many layers to it that I think it is important to have people who experienced the same things as you do to lean on and ask questions. 

“It’s less about what you know and more about who you know in the industry, so networking is key,” she added. “Whether a peer, professor or an established media member, they are a connection because you never know down the line which one is going to end up helping you,”  

Another keynote speaker, E.J. Smith, KLN ’16, was only 24 years old when he became an Eagles beat reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Smith smiled warmly, recalling how he tracked down Jalen Hurts’ dad at the other end of the Caesars Superdome stadium late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIX for a story he was writing about this year’s big game. 

“When I first got on the Eagles beat, I tried to provide value by covering the bases that most outlets couldn’t cover,” he said. “Like, I wasn’t going to be sitting on a scrum that everybody else was at. I was going to try and find stories in different corners of the locker room that other people weren’t necessarily paying attention to. I realized to trust your instincts.” 

Fran Duffy, KLN ’11, an NFL analyst at ALLCITY Network, discussed how social media has profoundly impacted sports media.  

“It is an environment and business that will humble you in every way possible, especially with social media, it comes from every angle,” said Duffy. “You may post something where five people agree with you and another 15 people say, ‘you have no idea what you are talking about, do you even watch film?’ 

“It’s important to have those relationships with people in the business that you can talk with and feel comfortable being vulnerable with,” he added.  

Kevin Kinkead, senior managing editor of Crossing Broad, and Bo Wulf, Eagles beat reporter and PHLY Host, were also guest speakers at the summit.  

In addition, the program provided two breakout sessions: Lauren Bullock, STH ’03, director of the new sports media major at Temple, discussed crisis communication in sports. Jeff Idelson, co-founder of Grassroots Baseball and former president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, talked about his experience working in Major League Baseball and the art of photography in sports.  

To wrap up the event, the students had a networking lunch to ask questions and build connections with industry professionals in attendance.